Machine for coating igniter lids



P 1958 H. E. HERSCHELMAN 2,851,986

MACHINE FOR COATING IGNITER LIDS Filed Dec. 9, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 .1E I INVENTOR.

HENRY E. HERSCHELMAN J. M/ 'EYS ATTOR Sept. 16, 1958 H. E. HERSCHELMAN2,851,986

MACHINE FOR COATING IGNI'IER LIDS Filed Dec. 9, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2CHANGE MOTOR SPEED GEARING INVENTOR. HENRY E, HERSCHELMAN A ATTORNEYSUnimd i' tes Patent MACHINE FOR COATING IGNITER LIDS Henry E.Herschelman, China Lake, Calif.

Application December 9, 1955, Serial No. 552,242

3 Claims. (Cl. 1183) (Granted under Title 35, U. S. Code (1952), sec.266) The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by orfor the Government of the United States of America for governmentalpurposes without the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.

The present invention relates to devices for applying a coating tocontainer lids, and more particularly to apparatus for applying anannular coating of liquid, such as glue, on a face of such lids. Evenmore specifically, the novel apparatus relates to an improved device forapplying a coating in an annular channel disposed in a face of a lid ofthe type used to seal explosive igniter containers.

It is a common expedient in the container art to coat either an annularportion adjacent the periphery of a container lid, or the entire lid.Apparatus for performing this function has generally been of two types,each subject to disadvantages, and both types generally involves arotary table to support the work, the table sometimes being mounted sothat it may be periodically raised to a position in which it is coatedby glue dispensed under pressure from a valve mechanism. One type ofcoating device utilizes work operated valve arrangements operated byraising the rotating work into contact with a valve operator. In suchdevices the valve operator is in the form of a pin, extending throughthe valve outlet and such valves are subject to plugging by virtue ofthe thickness and viscosity of the materials used and are alsodisadvantageous in that the valve operator either mars the work orstreaks the coating. Alternately, complex linkages and cam arrangementshave been utilized to operate the valves in a timed relationship withthe operation of the work support, with the obvious disadvantages ofexpensiveness and difficulty of design, and with the furtherdisadvantage that, in many such devices, the glue dispensing cycle isnot dependent upon the presence of the work so that glue may bedispensed when no Work is in position to receive it, causing fouling ofthe apparatus.

The present invention overcomes the disadvantages of the prior artdevices discussed hereinabove. By a novel arrangement of valve operatingmeans, the present invention makes it possible to have a coating machinehaving a work operated valve in which the valve actuation is noteffected by a pin extending through the valve, which does not depend onany complex timing linkage, which is adjustable for different size work,and which is so arranged that the dispensing valve will not operateunless a piece of work is in position on the work support.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide apparatus forapplying a coating on the face of a workpiece, such apparatus havingwork operated valve means not subject to plugging and which cannot marthe coating or the work.

It is a further object of the invention to provide improved means forapplying a coating in an annular pattern on the face of a workpiece,said means including work operated valve means in which the operatordoes not extend through the valve outlet, thus obviating dam-,

Still another object of this invention is to provide a. coating machineof the class described which is easily adjustable for the coating ofworkpieces of different sizes;

and having channels of different depths.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a; coatingapparatus in which the coating applying means: is rendered inoperativeby the absence of a workpiecefrom the work supporting means thereof.

Other objects and many of the attendant advantages:

of this invention will be readily appreciated as the same becomes betterunderstood by reference to the following detailed description whenconsidered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. l is a fragmentary perspective view of the coating apparatus whichis the subject of the present invention, illustrating the relationshipof the work support, the adjustably positioned coating materialdispensing valve, and the work operated valve operating means;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 22 of Fig. 1and illustrating the means for adjusting the height of the nozzle memberabove the work support;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of Fig.1 showing the set screw means for adjusting the radial and angularposition of the nozzle member relative to the work support;

Fig. 4 is a somewhat schematic showing of a type of mechanical movementadapted to impart continuous rotary and intermittent raising andlowering motions to the work support of the present invention, showingalso in section the details of the work support shown in Fig. 1; and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary side elevation taken in the direction of thearrows 55 of Fig. 4 and illustrating the outline of a cam adapted toperform the intermittent elevation and lowering of the work support inthe mechanical movement of Fig. 4.

Referring now to the drawings in which like reference numerals have beenapplied to like parts throughout, the present invention comprises acasing 2 which serves to house the motivating mechanism of the apparatus(see Fig. 4) and which has atop wall 4. Top wall 4 is. provided withmeans to support a coating supply container 6, the specific mountingmeans not being critical. Supply container 6 is provided with an inletpassage 8 adapted to be connected to a source of pressure gas and withan outlet or spout 10 adapted to be connected to flexiblehose means 12to conduct coating liquid under pressure to a point of use to be laterdescribed. The specific internal details of supply container 6 arenotshown since for the purposes of this invention it is only necessary thatflexible hose 12 serve as a source of coating material under pressureand many old and well-known devices are adapted to provide such asource.

The top wall 4 of the casing has an opening 14 therein through which ahollow guide conduit 16 (suitably fixedly supported within casing 2)extends and through which a shaft 18 which serves to raise and lower thework supporting means 20 is operative, as best seen in Fig. 4.

Means, in the form of a standard 22 (see Fig. 1) is provided for theadjustable support of a valved coating nozzle 28 and of mechanism foroperating the valve. Standard 22 comprises a base portion 24, a verticalsection 25 and an elevated arm portion 26 extended in a directionopposite that of the base. Arm portion 26 is provided at the end nearestthe base end with an up.- wardly and outwardly curved portion 29 havinga column 30 at the end thereof, said column having a passagetherethrough for supporting a flexible casing means 32 for a purpose tobe later described. At the outer extremity of the arm 26 is an elongatedvertical piece 34 having a guide hole passing vertically therethrough.Standard 22 is provided also with a pivot bearing 36 extending upwardlybetween arms 29 and 36. The standard 22 is attached to casing top 4 inany suitable manner, as by threaded studs, for example, in a positionsuch that the guide hole in the vertical arm 34 overlies the center ofthe hole 14 and hence the center of shaft 18.

A cylindrical member 38 is slidably and rotatably retained in bearingmeans provided by a suitable bore in vertical arm 25 of the standard.Member 38 is hollow and a headed pin 40 of a length to pass completelythrough member 38 and to extend beyond said member slightly, theextending end being screw threaded as shown at 42. Nozzle member 28 iscontrolled by an inwardly opening spring pressed valve, and the detailsthereof are not of the essence of this invention, such valves being oldand well known in the art. It is necessary for the practice of thisinvention only that the nozzle have a side inlet as at 44 for admittingthe coating material and that the operator for the valve thereof beoperated from a point remote from the outlet, as shown in Fig. 1. Theouter body of nozzle 28 is suitably attached to a thin supporting andadjusting stake 46, as by an integral block 45. A cap screw 48, of asize to accommodate threads 42 of pin 40 is provided with opposedopenings adjacent its closed end, said openings being of a size toslidably and rotatably receive the stake 46. As best shown in Fig. 2,the stake 46 may be inserted in the openings in cap screw 48. The pin 40may then be screwed into the cap screw 48 to lock the stake 46 andattached valved nozzle 28 into position. It should be noted that thearrangement just described serves as a means for varying the verticalposition of the nozzle as well as its angle about the center of thestake as an axis since stake 46 may be secured in any chosenlongitudinal and angular position by the pin 38. Further adjustmentmeans for the valve position is provided by set screw 50 extendingthrough a screw threaded hole in a transverse wall of the arm 25 intocontact with the exterior surface of cylindrical member 38 as best shownin Fig. 3 whereby upon loosening of said screw 50 the member 38 may berotated and longitudinally adjusted to any desired position. Thus, theposition and angular disposition of nozzle 28 is adjustable in anydirection.

The valve means of nozzle 28 is controlled by novel Work operatedlinkage means comprising a flexible casing 32 attached at one end to thecolumn 30 as previously described and to the valve casing at its otherend, A flexible control cable 52 extends through casing 32 and extendsbeyond its ends. At the valve end said cable 52 is attached to the valveoperator and at its other, free end it is attached to a securing post 53attached to the end of a lever 54. Lever S4 is mounted for pivotedmotion in the pivot bearing 36, the pivot point being between the endsof the lever, as shown and one end of said lever having a securing means53, previously described. A work contacting valve operating member- 55is positioned for sliding movement in the guide hole in the vertical arm34 and said member 55 is provided with a slot which accommodates thefree end of lever 54, as shown at 56 in Fig. 1.

From the foregoing, it should therefore be apparent that with the supplyreceptacle 6, containing liquid material under pressure, it a workpieceW is elevated to contact the member 55 to raise said member, the pivotalmovement of lever 54 will cause the cable 52 to be pulled downwardly toopen the valve in nozzle 28 to allow the liquid material to be dispensedor sprayed upon the work. Also, the foregoing description fullydescribes means whereby the position of the nozzle may be varied forhandling difierent size work. In conjunction with the banding ofdifferent sizes of work, the work supporting member or table 20 isremovable from the shaft 18 and may be replaced by other table membersof other appropriate outer diameters for cooperation with appropriatesize workpieces. Work table elements 20 are provided with hollowextensions 57 which fit a corresponding cavity in the end of shaft 18 asshown in Fig. 4.

A function of primary importance as a related improvement over the priorart is presented in the aforementioned hollow construction of theextension 57 of table 20. This hollow construction results in a pocket58 into which valve actuator 55 will be received if the table 20 shouldbe raised with no workpiece W thereon thus precluding opening of thevalve 28 in the absence of a workpiece.

In combination with the work supporting and valve actuating meanspreviously described the present invention includes means whereby a workpiece which is being continually rotated is elevated from a relativelylow loading position to a raised position in which it contacts valveoperating shaft 55 to allow liquid under pressure to be sprayed on theworkpiece, said workpiece being rotated a full turn or more while in theelevated position and then lowered for removal and replacement. Withsuch a combination selection of a work table 20 of appropriate size andadjustment of the position of nozzle 28 to the proper angle, height anddistance from the shaft center will result in a semi-automatic depositof a thick ness of an annular coating of glue or other coating materialon a flat workpiece, or if the workpiece is of the type having a channelC as in the drawings, the glue or other coating material may bedeposited in said channel as shown.

The details of the mechanical means for rotating, elevating and,lowering the work table 20 are not of the essence of this invention.Many such devices are known in the filling .and packaging arts and invarious other mechanical usages. For the purposes of this invention anysuch device may be used. However, for purposes of illustration andclarification a schematic showing of one such mechanism is included asbest shown in Fig. 4. In the illustrative example of Fig. 4, a motor andchange speed gearing appropriately bolted to the base of easing 2, asshown, drive the shaft 60 at a desired low rate of speed. Attached tothe shaft 60 for rotation therewith are the bevel gear 62 and the cam64, the latter being positioned at the free end of the shaft 60.

A support means 66 in the form of a metallic strap member is bolted tothe casing floor and extends upwardly as shown to support the guide 16and bevel gear 70. Gear 70 is supported from the upper surface of strap66 by roller bearing means 67, 68, as shown, inner ball bearing races 67being attached to axial extensions of the gear above and below the gearand matching outer races being formed as part of a cylindrical member 68of U-shaped cross-section (to clear the teeth of the gear). Bearingmember 68 has a portion cut-away to permit mating of the gears 62 and70, and is attached to strap 66 by screws 69, as shown. Gear 70 ispositioned to be turned by gear 62 and is of a size to make a chosenplurality of turns for each turn of gear 62 (two turns in theillustrated example) and the distance of cam 64 from gear 62 along driveshaft 60 is such as to place the cam 64 beneath the center of the gear70.

Bevel gear 70 has a central bore of a size to permit free longitudinalmovement of shaft 18 therethrough, the

shaft when thus positioned resting upon cam 64 to be elevated andlowered thereby. In order to cause rotation of shaft 18, andintermittent elevation and lowering thereof the shaft is provided with aslot 72 extending longitudinally in the periphery thereof, and the bevelgear 70 is provided with a pin 74 extending inwardly into the bore 71 ofthe gear to be engaged in the slot 72. With this arrangement, pin 74, byengaging the side walls of slot 72 is effective to cause shaft 18 torotate continuously with gear 70 as it is driven by the motor meansthrough gear 62. Simultaneously, shaft 18 is permitted to movevertically by virtue of the fact that slot 72 permits such movementrelative to pin 74, in response to rotation of the cam 64. Pin 74 may beattached to bevel gear 70 in any appropriate manner, as for example, byscrew means 75, as illustrated.

The sizes of gears 62 and 70 are so chosen that gear 70 (and the work Wsupported on work support 20) make two revolutions to each revolution ofshaft 60 with its attached gear 62 and cam 64. The contour of cam 64 asshown in Fig. 5 provides slightly more than 180 dwell in the elevatedposition and, in view of the gear ratio, this represents slightly morethan a complete revolution of the workpiece. Thus, for each revolutionof the shaft 60 the work .is continuously rotated twice and (for theexemplary cam contour of Fig. 5) this cycle provides 200 of dwell in thelowered position (for removal and replacement of workpieces) about 140of rotation while being raised and while being lowered, and slightlymore than a full turn or about 380 in the raised position during whichvalve operator 55 is raised by the workpiece W to cause valved nozzle 28to open to discharge glue in an annular pattern in the channel C of theworkpiece.

Apparatus as described may be operated continuously, by regulation tolow speed operation and by continuous removal and replacement ofworkpieces; it being noteworthy that if the operator neglects toposition a workpiece no glue will be dispensed, since valve operator 55will be received in the pocket 58 and not lifted to cause dispensing.Alternatively, the apparatus may be provided with known conventionalmeans to control motor operation to operate through one or more cyclesat each operation of a starting switch.

From the foregoing it should be clear that the present inventionpresents new and improved coating apparatus wherein work operated valvemeans of improved nonplugging characteristics are provided and in whichthe valve means do not contact and mar the coating as it is applied tothe work. Moreover, this invention provides simple and effective meansof adjustability for varying sizes of work and means for preventingunwarranted discharge of coating material.

While only a single illustrative example of a device according to thisinvention has been specifically described herein, it is obvious thatmany variations and modifications thereof are possible within the scopeof the teachings of this disclosure. It is therefore to be understoodthat the scope of the invention is not intended to be limited by thespecific illustrative example described but rather by the scope andlanguage of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for applying liquid coating material on a face of aworkpiece, the combination of a work support mounted for verticalmovement and having a horizontal top surface, means for raising andlowering said work support, a normally closed valved liquid applyingnozzle, means supporting said nozzle above said work support in aposition to discharge a stream of liquid on a workpiece positioned onsaid work support, said means supporting said nozzle being adjustable tovary the horizontal distance of said nozzle from the center of said Worksupport and to vary the angularity of said nozzle relative to said worksupport and its height above said work support, a source of liquid underpressure connected to said valved nozzle, valve operating meanspositioned remotely from the valved nozzle in the vertical .path ofmovement of said workpiece on said work support, means operativelyconnecting said valve operating means to said valved nozzle so thatelevation of said workpiece will operate to contact and move said valveoperating means to cause said valved nozzle to open to deposit liquid onsaid workpiece, said work support being provided with a vertical cavityin the said horizontal top surface thereof and said valve operatingmeans being aligned vertically with said cavity so that upon elevationof said work support without a workpiece thereon said valve operatingmeans will enter said cavity and thus not be moved to cause operation ofsaid valved nozzle and unwarranted escape of liquid coating material,said means connecting said valved nozzle and said valve operating meansincluding a link comprising a flexible wire sheathed in a flexiblehousing so that variations in the relative positions of said valvednozzle and said valve operating means may be absorbed in the degree offlexure of said link, said valve operating means consisting of a shaftmounted for vertical movement in response to contact by a workpiece onsaid work support, the operative connection to said valved nozzlecomprising a lever pivotally mounted between its ends, one end of saidlever being attached to said shaft for movement thereby, the other endof said lever being attached to 'one end of said flexible wire, theopposite end of said flexible wire being connected to said valved nozzlemember to control the operation thereof.

2. In apparatus for applying an annular coating of liquid material on aface of a workpiece, the combination of a work support mounted forrotation about a vertical axis and movable in the direction of saidaxis, said work support consisting of a horizontal top surface centrallymounted on the top end of a vertical shaft, means for continuouslyrotating said work support while intermittent- 1y causing it to bevertically raised and lowered along its axis, said work support verticalshaft being operatively connected to said means for continuouslyrotating and intermittently raising and lowering the work support forrotation and longitudinal movement thereby, a normally closed valvedliquid applying nozzle, means supporting said nozzle above said worksupport in a position to discharge a stream of liquid on a workpiecepositioned on said work support, a source of liquid under pressureconnected to said valved nozzle, said means supporting said nozzle beingadjustable to vary the horizontal distance of said nozzle from thecenter of said work support so that the diameter of the annular coatingapplied on the workpiece may be selectively varied, valve operatingmeans positioned remotely from the valved nozzle in the vertical path ofmovement of said workpiece on said work support, means operativelyconnecting said valve operating means to said valved nozzle so thatelevation of said workpiece into contact with said valve operating meansoperates to cause said valved nozzle to open to deposit liquid coatingmaterial in an annular path on said 'workpiece as the latter is rotatedby said work support in the elevated position, said means connectingsaid valved nozzle and said valve operating means including a linkcomprising a flexible wire sheathed in a flexible housing so thatvariations in the relative positions of said valved nozzle and saidvalve operating means may be absorbed in the degree of flexure of saidlink, said horizontal top surface of said work support having a verticalcavity in the center thereof and said valve operating means beingaligned vertically with said cavity so that upon elevation of said worksupport without a workpiece thereonsaid valve operating means will entersaid cavity and thus not be moved to cause operation of said valvednozzle and unwarranted escape of coating material.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2 wherein said work support comprises aninterchangeable table member being removably connected to said verticalshaft, whereby said table member may be replaced by other table membersReferences Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,358,011 Mandel Nov. 9, 1920 Mayer Mar. 17, 1925 S Bratz Oct. 22, 1935Johnson July 23, 1940 Newman June 23, 1942 Kastel May 6, 1947 Shanklinet a1 May 25, 1948 DeKoning Nov. 8, 1950 Pottle Aug. 1, 1950 Socke Aug.29, 1950 Shanklin et a1. Oct. 3, 1950

